


Among the Stars

by Sky_King



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Everyone hugs Senkuu, Fluff, Fuwa Fuwa Fic, Gen, Ishigami villagers love their village leader, Kinda, Senkuu goes to space, Senkuu has friends, Senkuu still has trust issues, Senkuu's birthday fic, a little hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:55:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22177423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sky_King/pseuds/Sky_King
Summary: On his birthday, Senkuu goes to space for the second time in his life.Once more it's just a crochet version of him who goes, but in this stone world, it's not only a wish, it's a promise.And he's not alone to fulfill it.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen & Ishigami Senkuu, Ishigami Senkuu & Everyone, Ishigami Senkuu & Nanami Ryuusui, Ishigami Senkuu & Ogawa Yuzuriha & Ooki Taiju
Comments: 14
Kudos: 149





	Among the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Happy (belated) birthday, Senkuu!
> 
> I had the thought about maybe writing him a fic, because all of my complete unposted works are Angst af, but I got the idea on the last half of the day. So Here I am, four days later, and with a fic that mixed like 4 separate ideas I had.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

One year after the Observatory was inaugurated, Ishigami Senkuu woke up in his hut and reminded himself that the kingdom of Might was not a threat anymore when he couldn’t find Chrome anywhere.

He breathed in. Out.

He had to remind himself that he had done a lot of good things for Ishigami Village, that he was a fairly competent chief and there would be no reason for them to want to toss him out.

He opened his eyes and reminded himself that if there was another surprise, he would go along with everyone and not break their hearts with his senseless fears.

(And, a small part of him couldn’t help but say, if his fears proved to be true, he would not begrudge them.)

By the time Asagiri Gen poked his head into his room, a smile already on his face as he confirmed that he was awake, Senkuu already had all of his bearings under control. He smirked at him.

"Good morning," He said, rising to his feet and crossing his arms over his chest, hands conveniently hidden. He breathed as deeply as he could as he reminded himself that if they tried to cover his eyes again he would not fight it, no matter the outcome. "Is something the matter?"

Gen's face morphed into such a serious expression that Senkuu felt himself tensing up despite everything he had just told himself.

Gen walked up to him, something soft in the furrow of his brow, in the way he stepped around his piles of half-built inventions. Quiet, like a housecat, but not sneaky. Standing just in front of him, he raised a hand, so softly, so slowly Senkuu could breathe through the motion. He cupped his cheek and made him look into his eyes.

"Today is your birthday," he declared with no fanfare. Startled red eyes looked into serene dark ones. "And today we are going to celebrate your birthday, and we are all going to have fun with you."

Senkuu blinked repeatedly, a little bit lost even as tension began bleeding out of his frame. "This is somehow out of character of you. Are you feeling alright?"

"We just didn't want a repeat from last year." Gen shrugged, patting him on the cheek before turning to leave, waving an airy goodbye, "I was just making sure you were awake. Everyone's outside. There's cake. And gifts. And confetti. Are you ready?"

"I'm not going to die of shock or something." Senkuu grumbled, but his shoulders relaxed a little bit more as he followed Gen outside.

* * *

The first thing he realized when he stepped out of his hut was that they were forming a line.

"Why?" He said uselessly to the first person on it, which happened to be Chrome.

The boy grinned, only snickering in the face of his disgruntlement. "Happy Birthday, Senkuu!" He exclaimed as he threw his arms around him. He buried his head in the crook of his neck, letting Senkuu stumble in bewilderment under his weight before he stepped away.

Senkuu only had time to smile awkwardly at him, still somehow out of his depth when the next person stepped up to him.

“Happy birthday, Senkuu!” Ruri said, holding her hands in front of her demurely. She looked so happy in her winter outfit as she patiently waited for him to snap out of his funk. She stretched out her arms, but kept waiting until an exasperated Senkuu accepted the hug.

Ruri separated herself, kissed him on the cheek and smiled impishly at him before running to catch Chrome by surprise. They both fell down in a laughing mess.

Senkuu could only roll his eyes at them, but then he was caught by Ruri’s younger –and stronger– sister. Kohaku squeezed him between her unfairly muscled arms, picking him up for a brief second and laughing at his protests.

She grinned at him, wild in her joy. “Thanks for coming into our lives, happy birthday!”

Next was a rather flustered Kaseki, who kept musing his beard in a rather nervous fashion. He smiled at him, “I wish you a joyous birthday. I hope this and all your future birthdays are filled with happiness.”

Senkuu smiled knowingly, not giving the older man a chance to protest as he dove in for a hug. Kaseki was shocked for a second, before he hesitatingly returned the hug.

“Thanks, Kaseki. Hope to have you around just as long.” Senkuu replied, patting him on the back before letting go. He grinned at him. A hand extended to him. “Let’s go do some more crazy science later.”

Kaseki high-fived him. “You got it!”

The next in line was Suika, who jumped into his arms with a happy giggle. Senkuu hugged her tight, then let her kiss him on the cheek before letting her down.

She stuck by his side as he turned to face the next contender, and soon enough Senkuu had finally relaxed.

* * *

When the last villager had gotten their free Senkuu hugTM, Senkuu found himself face-to-face with his oldest, and most beloved friends. Yuzuriha and Taiju. Both of them grinned at him, their hands behind their backs.

“What you got there?” Senkuu asked with a grin, the steady release of endorphins from the hugs making it nearly impossible to feel suspicious.

“Your gift.” Yuzuriha giggled, nudging Taiju so he’d show his first.

The ambient noise faded to the background, everything disappearing from Senkuu’s mind as Taiju stepped aside and used his empty hands to gesture at something behind them both.

Roughly a head shorter than Senkuu was tall, a rudimentary rocket stared back at him. it was eerily similar to that little one he had built, all those years ago.

The first time he had gone to space, despite everyone’s doubts.

There was a lump in his throat as the onslaught of memories caught him by surprise.

That was still his dream in this Stone World, wasn’t it?

Being able to be among the stars.

Being able to see what Byakuya had loved so much.

He smirked,

“Oya, oya? Could it be that the Big Oaf developed a brain? Or is this just a model?” He turned to look at Yuzuriha who giggled and presented her hands.

He had kind of been expecting it, but was still caught by surprise by the sheer quantity of little crocheted dolls in her hands.

It was her, and Taiju and Senkuu like all those years ago. It was also Byakuya, and Lillian with a tiny microphone. As well as the original members of the Kingdom. Kohaku. Chrome. Kaseki. Ginrou and Kinrou. Gen. And Ruri. And Suika with her tiny melon head.

His hands, his gestures betrayed him as he reached out for Byakuya’s doll.

He cradled it in his hands, marveling at all the tiny details, at the way he was so similar to how he remembered. At the way the smile on his face was as bright as it had been in real life.

He smirked again. “You got his goofy grin just right. Can’t believe my old man gets to go to space again.” He scanned the small group of dolls before looking back at the rocket and doing his calculations. He frowned dubiously. “Oi, I hope you weren’t expecting to fit everyone in there.”

“Ah!” Yuzuriha exclaimed, smiling sheepishly. “I kind of got overexcited with the dolls, but you get to pick who goes to space with you! We could even take turns!”

“Yuzuriha,” Senkuu rolled his eyes, amusement tugging at his lips. “That you build a model rocket doesn’t mean that it can magically fly.”

“Oh but, it does fly, Senkuu! At least it should!”

“What?” He blinked in surprised, hurriedly kneeling beside the “model” spaceship and realizing just how heavy it was. “Who- what- _how_?”

Taiju grinned up at him. “You told me how, remember?”

Senkuu stared incomprehensible for all of two seconds before it clicked. “I can’t believe you were paying attention to me all those years back! How long has it been? How do you even remember, Big Oaf?”

“You know Taiju has always been amazing!” Yuzuriha beamed at him, which made him blush.

He rubbed the back of his head. “No well, I’m… I remembered but I didn’t understand so I got help from Kaseki and Ryuusui and Chrome.”

“Big Oaf, did you know that for building a real rocket, there are teams upon teams of people that help put everything together?” He was smiling at him. Bright-eyed and absolutely, ten billion percent proud. “This is amazing. You’re amazing, although that’s not surprising.”

The praise got to Taiju who began to sob loudly and promptly picked Senkuu up, and crushed him to his chest, with Yuzuriha softly guiding them away from the rocket before joining in.

“I’m no expert,” Gen began once Senkuu was put down again, hands neatly inside his oversized sleeves. “But I think it would be great to launch your rocket at night.”

The other man wheezed for breath for a couple minutes. “I mean, so long as the sky is clear and the wind doesn’t pick up, it doesn’t really matter.” His hands were itching to set his rocket off though. He was dying to see it go to space. But Gen wouldn’t have suggested it for naught, he eyed him suspiciously. “You’re dramatic to your core, aren’t you, mentalist?”

Gen giggled. “If I’m not, then who will?”

* * *

The day couldn’t have gone by any slower, Senkuu thought impatiently jogging his leg up and down as he examined the little rocket in his lab. It was beautiful. Functional. Everything about it seemed to be operational and it was just awe-inspiring. The pinnacle of human engineering, in the palm of his hands. Or more like on his lab desk, nearly touching the ceiling. Same difference.

He tweaked a thing or two, some wires that had gotten jumbled up, a screw that had begun to come loose. Minor things.

He hoped it would fly.

Even if it didn’t, he hoped he could see how it had failed and find a way to fix it.

He hoped it did, though.

He was mostly left to his own devices, as they all prepared for the celebratory meal after the rocket. But when it became apparent that Senkuu planned on spending the entire day cooped up in his lab, he had been pulled out by Kohaku, who threatened to carry him out if he didn’t get a move on. There was still cake for them all.

All thanks to the amazing miracle worker known as Francois, they had managed to get him a real, cartoon-rocket-shaped birthday cake, with frosting and candles and all that jazz.

It was really good, which was a given. Everything Francois did was amazing. Senkuu made sure to tell them anyway, keeping the praise out of earshot from Ryuusui.

Talking about whom, without letting anyone stop him, Ryuusui kidnapped the birthday boy from his own celebration and took him out on a boat ride; thankfully abstaining from demonstrating the several outrageous tricks he regaled him with on their way to calmer waters. Ryuusui smiled at him, watching him lie down on his back and stare up at the pinks and oranges of an evening sky.

“Happy birthday, Senkuu. Thank you for being my friend.” He said, but it got lost in the waves. When Senkuu asked him what he had said he had only laughed. “Be thankful today’s your birthday, a ride with me would normally be exorbitantly expensive!”

Senkuu had only laughed.

(They watched the sunset together.)

* * *

When night finally came, Senkuu was excited. He came running out of his hut, rocket cradled in his arms and so busy with getting to the agreed upon place of launch, next to the observatory without tripping, that he forgot to look up.

When he finally set his precious rocket down and looked up, he understood why Gen had insisted.

Here in the Stone World, the night skies were always so close.

The galaxies and constellations lit up the dark night sky, and despite being so far away, it gave the illusion that he could reach out a hand and touch the stars.

They were waiting for him, he soon realized. Huddled together for the scarce warmth their bodies were producing, most of the villagers were all waiting for him in the cold winter weather.

“Are you ready, Senkuu?” Ruri was the one to ask, no judgment in her eyes. By her side, Chrome was looking rather excited, looking just as starry-eyed as Kaseki by his side.

Senkuu allowed himself a softer smile. “Ten billion percent.”

As he and Taiju set everything up, Senkuu explained to his attentive public of two, all the science that had gone into the small rocket at hand. He explained the Physics, the math behind the upwards trajectory, about the strength of the motor. About how it could only fit a certain amount of dolls before risking it falling down under its own weight.

“That’s baaad!” Chrome shouted, hands in the air. “Have you decided who you’re sending to space with you, Senkuu?”

“Well, if my calculations are correct, the rocket can only transport five dolls.”

“So you, Yuzuriha, Taiju, your dad… and who else?”

Senkuu fished out the little doll of his father from his lab coat’s pocket. He stared at it, a lopsided smirk on his lips. “Nah, he’s been to space enough. He should give this opportunity to someone else. Someone who actually values it.”

Gen was the one who scratched his cheek and commented lightly, “truly ruthless, Senkuu-chan.” But he was smiling, and so was Senkuu.

Yuzuriha approached him with a smile, unfazed. “Two seats are still available, captain. Who will you pick?”

Senkuu smiled at her, and at the dolls in her hands. He hummed in feigned nonchalance as his hand hovered over them, before making his choice. “I guess these two will do.”

Chrome and Kaseki both gawked at their little doll impersonation in his hands before whooping and cheering, embarrassing Senkuu with their gratitude. He tried playing it off as just a coincidence, a lucky draw, but he soon gave up, cheeks aflame when absolutely nobody heeded his words.

Senkuu assembled his little crew. He made sure everything was impeccable before stepping away, marveling at the rocket once more.

It was highly likely this would not fly, he reminded himself.

It was highly likely it would explode on its way up, or in its zenith.

Senkuu was dying to try it.

By his side Taiju was nervously fidgeting on the spot, as Senkuu finally stepped back and began the launch.

The rocket sputtered, once, twice, the clearing was holding their breath.

With a bang, the small spaceship took to the skies, weaving a haphazard vertical line. Up, up it went, and with the night sky so close to them, Senkuu decided that no matter how far it went, he would call it a success. They were all already among the stars.

The rocket continued to soar, Senkuu arching his neck back and trying to follow its trail into the yawning abyss above.

For a long minute, there was silence. Even despite not being able to follow it with his eyes, not with the sea of stars above, Senkuu continued to follow it with his calculations. Then, “Big Oaf, you did it. It reached the stratosphere.”

His words were followed by a distant explosion, like a firework.

Senkuu laughed and clapped, which cued all the other Ishigami villagers to cheer, Taiju rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“You did it, Big Oaf.” He whispered again, his voice softer than before, as the other villagers began to talk excitedly amongst themselves. “You got them into space.”

“We went to space again, Senkuu-kun.” Yuzuriha corrected him softly. By her side Kaseki was musing his beard and looking inordinately satisfied.

“Oho, who’d think I would be able to go to space, and at my age! Truly science is wonderful…”

Chrome agreed with him, tears in his eyes, there was a blush on his cheeks, like rosy stardust as he gazed up.

“Science is so amazing…” Chrome echoed with a thick voice.

(They were not wrong.)

(Still, if Senkuu was any more sentimental, he would argue that the true wonder was their relentless faith in it.)

And then, while everyone was still looking up, as if expecting for the rocket to come back, the stars began to rain.

Small specs of lights, barely discernible from the sea above, they began to rain.

“Ah,” Gen was the first to say in the awed silence that followed. “That’s right, there was always a meteor shower around these dates.”

“The Quadrantids,” Ryuusui mumbled, having finally finished eating and gazing at the spectacle with a wide grin. “It’s been so long.”

“Quadrantids?” Chrome asked, always thirsting for knowledge. “The Stone Stars are called that?”

“Stone Stars?” Ryuusui and Senkuu both asked, looking at him.

“I-well, I mean, they always appear during Stone Day, so I- we… well. It’s like the sky is celebrating the day with us, don’t you think?”

“Chrome you are ten billion percent the cheesiest person I know!” Senkuu laughed, reaching out a hand to mess up his hair.

“Ah, Senkuu-chan,” Gen said next, a mischievous grin on his face. “It is an auspicious coincidence they rained down after your rocket went up.”

Senkuu stopped messing with Chrome, an arm around his shoulders. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Perhaps the stars heard your wish!”

"And what wish is that, mentalist?"

“Your wish to take humanity all the way to space, again."

Senkuu was quiet for a bit, as if struck speechless. Then all his determination lit up a fire behind his eyes. He put out a hand in front of everyone.

“It’s not a wish, mentalist. It’s a promise. Together, we’ll make it happen. Ten billion percent."

Chrome laughed as he put his hand over his. Kaseki too. Ryuusui snapped his fingers before joining, scooting back to allow an exuberant Taiju and Yuzuriha to do the same.

Little by little everyone trickled in, laughing and smiling until it was no longer a cheer, but people holding hands with their closest neighbor, and bumping elbows with everyone else.

“Humanity will go to space again.” Senkuu whispered, looking up into the sky.

The last meteor made its dash, and for a brief second of insanity, Senkuu thought the sky was winking at him.

(Senkuu winked back.)

“It’s a promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it!  
> Let me know what you thought!


End file.
